1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radar systems, and is particularly concerned with multifunction radar techniques for radars of the type having an electronically phase-controlled antenna, a signal generator, a transmitter, a receiver having a received signal processing device and a radar measuring equipment that comprises a radar control device, a target tracking device and a radar management assembly that, among other things, continues to define the antenna lobe position, the sampling period, the signal shape and the form of the signal processing and supplies instructions with respect thereto to the radar measuring equipment as elementary radar requests, as result thereof the radar power available in the radar measuring equipment is optimally utilized in the search at all times.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A multi-function radar having an electronically phasecontrolled antenna must satisfy a number of requirements. What can be particularly important are: a search in various regions, locating of objects for which a pre-indication is present, clarification of possible false alarms and, as warranted, the rapid initiation of target tracking, the tracking of targets of different categories, passive locating (for example triangulation and trilateration) and the recognition of clutter and shadowings.
The multi-function radar achieved these objects by suitable interaction of its assemblies shown on the drawing. First of all, there are thereby assemblies that manage the physical generation of the transmission signals as well as the reception and the signal processing up to the plot formation. In detail, these are a signal generator 1, a transmitter 2, and electronically phase-controlled antenna 3, a receiver 4 and a receiver processing device 5. Added thereto is the elementary coordination of these assemblies that, for example, assures that the phase shifters of the antenna 3 are correctly set, that the transmission and receiving frequencies match and the signal processing occurs such that it is suitable for the signal just emitted.
The assembly that executes this coordination is referred to as the radar control device 6. All of the assemblies mentioned up to this point should be identified under the collective term radar measuring instrument 7.
The radar measuring instrument defined in such a fashion is in the position to execute instructions in which it is defined where (lobe position), how long (illumination duration) and how (signal shape and signal processing form) the multi-function radar should "look". The illumination duration is thereby defined by the signal shape. Such an instruction that is composed of lobe position, signal shape and form of signal processing should be referred to as an elementary radar requests instruction. The radar measuring instrument must therefore receive elementary radar instructions. Dependent on the condition of the outside world, i.e. the scenario 8, it then generates plots or, respectively, strobes and supplies these to a multi-function radar target tracking device (tracker) 9 that processes these information. The processed information are supplied to a firing guidance stand 10.
The expense and the design of the radar measuring instrument is reflected in the quality of elementary radar information (or requests) that can be executed. In a phasedarray radar having a narrow radar beam ("pencil lobe"), a lobe position can be freely selected within a solid angular range. The dwell duration in this lobe position, the signal shape and the form of signal processing can likewise be selected from a great multitude of possibilities. When, in addition, it is considered that several hundred of such elementary radar requests are generally to be generated per second, then one has an idea of the multitude of technically-applied possibilities that the radar measuring instrument makes available.
What is to be understood by radar management assemblies 11 is than that assembly of a multi-function radar that, on the basis of a skillful utilization of the radar measuring instrument 7, sees to it that the multi-function radar optimally meets all of its above-mentioned duties and that target conflicts that thereby potentially arise are properly resolved.
As seen from the radar measuring instrument 7, the task of the radar management assembly 11 is comprised in granting the most beneficial elementary radar request at ever instant of time. The complexity of the radar management thereby results from unsurveyably-great plurality of possible combinations of elementary radar requests.
Selecting the best combination for each time interval dependent on the constantly-changing environmental influences and the likewise dynamic tactical situation is included therein, so that the above-mentioned tasks of the multi-function radar that is referenced 12 on FIG. 1 are optimally fulfilled.
Up to now, radar management problems in multi-function radars having phase-controlled antennas were approached on the basis of heuristic methods that optimize no specifiable target functions, use operating modes pre-planned and off-line for resolving the search task and only allow a limited and slow adaptation to the variable surroundings.
The article by B. H. Scheff and D. G. Hammel entitled "Real-Time Computer Control of Phased Array Radars" in the publication "Supplemental to IEEE Transactions of Aerospace and Electronic Systems", published in Vol. AES-3, No. 6, November 1967, pp. 198-206, discloses a multi-function radar equipped with an electronically phase-controlled antenna that is computer controlled in real time and whose operations execution sequences are executed by a management program.